All About the Sahara Desert hadynyah / Getty Images By Amanda Briney Thought Co Updated on August 12, 2019 Amanda Briney, M.A., is a professional geographer. She holds a Certificate of Advanced Study in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from California State University. The Sahara Desert is located in the northern portion of Africa and covers over 3,500,000 square miles (9,000,000 sq km) or r..